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A merciless standard in thrash metal since 1985, Overkill have made it their mission to be constantly authentic and have therefore cemented an unequivocal longevity for themselves. It wasn’t until 2010, however, that they finally made their way to Australia for their first run of shows, an experience the band’s vocalist Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth remembers very well.
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“First time experiences are always something special and obviously memorable,” he says. “Being in a band as long as I have, and my partner D.D. [founding member and bassist D.D. Verni], you have to like people and you have to like to travel. That’s a good combination right there.
“When I got there [Australia] I was pleasantly surprised to find I was hanging out with all my cousins, as opposed to going for instance Russia or China or South America. I found so much commonality between the Aussie and the Yank, it was something special, a pleasant surprise. It was like we had more in common than not, and especially that of music.”
Back for round two of brutal Overkill shows this March, Blitz remembers round one fondly, saying the Australian metal scene reminds him of the band’s early days. “I saw a lot of the, what we call “the uniform”,” he chuckles, “The denim jacket with the patches on it that has become a popular fashion item in other places but it seems like it was the real deal there.
“It seemed to have that excitement of the pit, it seemed to have that over the top energy and it seemed that they [fans] were not there for the night but there for the band, which is way more important to us. That they come to see us as opposed to just going out.”
Communication is out there and I think if the Middle East was not such a hotspot for political uprising, you’d find there are tonnes of metal heads there.
[ Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth ]
More than 30 years into a distinguished and colourful career Overkill are still experiencing many firsts. “I think it just proves it’s a bigger world than we all think,” Blitz muses. “What’s happened over the last two decades, after we started, the world has gotten smaller with regard to information and the places that were considered un-go able—even third world type countries have become go able.
“Communication is out there and I think if the Middle East was not such a hotspot for political uprising, you’d find there are tonnes of metal heads there. It’s possible, say, in the future, that could be a first time.
“But to get to Australia,” Blitz continues, remembering that we’re next on the mark, “We’re talking 22 hours or so by plane, which is quite an accomplishment. A mind blowing experience to be that far from home and made to feel so welcome.
“I think once the music does the talking it becomes a universal language anywhere you go.”
If Overkill are leaving it to the music to do the talking then there’s no better language to be heard than their latest album The Grinding Wheel. Though each Overkill album seems to speak for itself, with its own language, performing new tracks doesn’t vary all that much from performing material from the 80s, at least not for Blitz. “We still do this for the excitement and for opportunity. I think once you press play on The Grinding Wheel, you realise we don’t nail it in. It’s not about, ‘Okay let’s rehash that old popular song’, even for us, even though we’re that thrash band, we’re still blazing new paths for ourselves.
“We notice the nuances and differences, as I think people who are into this band notice too. One of the things on The Grinding Wheel that probably brings most pride to me is that it’s not a one or two dimensional record, it shows a huge diversity of so many different influences we’ve had, all the way back to [when we were] kids.
“The punk rock I listened to in the late 70s when The Ramones were coming about, when Iggy Pop moved to New York and the first [Black] Sabbath records I had, and the thrash metal and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal, and the doom and the hard-core… and it all shows itself in one offering, showing that diversity from all these different places we came from this many years later, I think it still shows that there’s an original fresh vibe in this band where we still wanna knock down some walls.
“We’re still standing. If you want the flag you can try to take it but we’re not gonna let it go very easily.”
Overkill Australian tour starts on February 28 in Adelaide, tickets available here.
